Police officers shot by fugitive in Springfield spared serious injury by Kevlar vests; fugitive walked away from prison after he evaded a head count

UPDATE 4 A.M. Sunday -- Prison escapee Tamik Kirkland was back in the operating room at Baystate Medical Center shortly before 4 a.m. Sunday for another round of emergency surgery, according to Springfield police, who are closely monitoring Kirkland's health. Kirkland is suspected of murdering a man inside a State Street barbershop Saturday afternoon after he escaped from state prison last week, allegedly to avenge his mother's April 23 shooting in the city's North End. She survived the incident.

UPDATE 9 P.M. -- A Department of Correction spokeswoman said Tamik Kirkland escaped the minimum security prison in Shirley by placing "a dummy" in his bed to evade a head count. He then walked away from the facility.

SPRINGFIELD - An escaped convict police believe fled a minimum-security state prison a week ago to avenge his mother’s shooting killed a man with a handgun in a barbershop in broad daylight Saturday, minutes before wounding two police officers in a shootout on Cambridge Street, police said.

Tamik Kirkland, 25, a city resident serving time for firearm and drug charges at Shirley State prison, allegedly opened fire on the officers from the trunk of a car as he tried to flee from 49 Cambridge St. shortly before 12:30 p.m.

Police said they believe Kirkland fatally shot a customer and critically wounded a barber at Bill Brown’s House of Beauty at 945 State St. just minutes before.

A Massachusetts State Police trooper and a city police officer were each shot once in the chest but were spared serious injuries by their Kevlar vests, according to Springfield Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet. The Springfield officer, Raul Gonzalez, is a 15-year veteran. The trooper’s name was not released.

The back-to-back gunfire drew a swift and massive police response – both due to the officers down and because Kirkland was already being sought by a fugitive task force. He was suspected to have ties to the yellow duplex on Cambridge Street, Hampden County District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni said at a press conference outside police headquarters Saturday afternoon.

“It was no accident that police were outside that house when the car was pulling away,” Mastroianni said.

Kirkland’s mother was shot in the leg at a Ringgold Street home on April 23, police said. She survived and another woman was seriously wounded. No motive has been released and no arrests have been made.

Kirkland fled prison overnight on April 24, according to a state official. City officials said he had been “wreaking havoc” across the city since his escape and is believed to be a suspect in other recent shootings and attempted shootings – apparently in response to the incident involving his mother.

Police believe he killed the unidentified patron in the barbershop on Saturday as an act of vengeance.

Officials have not released the identities of the dead man or the barber. Both could be seen splayed out and bleeding on the floor of the salon, being tended to by emergency personnel shortly after noon. Two bullet holes marred the wide window of the storefront shop.

Mastroianni said Kirkland likely was in the shop when he fired on the men.

Fitchet said Kirkland then fled up Montrose Street on foot, and police in the area sped to the duplex where they believed a family member or ally lived. They spotted a silver sedan back into the driveway and Kirkland hop into the trunk. As the car tried to pull away, police surrounded the vehicle and pulled a female driver from the car.

“The trunk had been popped and the suspect started shooting. Police returned fire and the suspect was shot several times,” Fitchet said, adding that Kirkland is in serious condition but expected to live.

A 6-month-old baby found in a car seat in the back of the vehicle was unharmed.

“The trunk had already been popped (and the suspect quickly began firing). It happened over a matter of seconds. They didn’t notice the baby until afterward,” Fitchet said, adding that the infant escaping unscathed was one of a few strokes of luck against a tragic backdrop.

Police refused to release the driver’s name or her relationship to Kirkland, if any.

William Eason, a Hampden Superior Court Clerk who lives just yards from the site of the police shootout, said he had just arrived home from a conference and heard 20 to 25 shots in rapid succession.

“I heard the gunfire, looked out my window and a crowd of police were here within seconds,” Eason said. “I saw one suspect with his hands in the air.”

A state police helicopter hovered overhead for several hours, but Fitchet and other law enforcement officials said they believed Kirkland was the only shooter. However, they said the investigation is ongoing and said the list of charges he will face is not yet complete.

Mastroianni said while he is not questioning the level of security at the Shirley prison, he wondered how Kirkland escaped after the news of his mother’s shooting provided such an obvious motive to bolt.

“I’m troubled over how a person was able to escape from jail when he had such a clear reason to want to escape from jail and head to the streets of Springfield,” Mastroianni said.

He said the governor’s office, correction officials and district attorneys across the state are scrutinizing the incident.

A state Department of Correction spokeswoman said that a preliminary review indicated Kirkland fashioned a dummy in his bed to evade a head count, then walked away from the minimum security facility. She said that one staff member so far has been placed on paid leave pending further investigation.

“When the investigation is complete, the DOC will take whatever steps may be necessary to insure that an incident like this does not happen again,” spokeswoman Diane Wiffin wrote in an email.

The last time a Springfield officer was shot on the job was March 13, 2007. David M. Askins was hit in the leg while he and other officers were trying arrest a fugitive hiding at 126 Malden St.

Officers Alain Beauregard and Michael J. Schiavina were shot and killed after a traffic stop on Stebbins Street in 1985.

In 1984, officers Angel Gonzalez and Richard Jarvis were wounded while responding to a report of an assault on Sanderson Street. Both men were forced to retire because of their injuries and have since died.